The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for unwinding a plurality of short lines from a longline, and more particularly for unwrapping gangions from a longline fishing line so that the gangions are suspended relatively free from the line.
A substantial number of fishing fleets throughout the world utilize the longline method of fishing for commercially harvesting fish from the ocean. To fish using the longline method, a plurality of hook-tipped short lines, or gangions, are affixed at spaced locations to a ground line having a length of 1500 feet (500 meters) or more. The gangions vary in length from longline to longline from approximately 10 inches (25 centimeters) to 20 inches or more (50 centimeters or greater). One end of the longline is then weighted. The hooks on the gangions are sequentially baited and the longline dropped overboard. The longline is left out until a sufficient number of fish have been hooked. The long line is then hauled back on to the boat, the fish removed, and the longline and gangions stored awaiting the next fishing cycle. Conventionally, the longlines are stored in a tub or box in a partially coiled fashion with the gangions wound around the ground line.
In the past, the gangions have been unwrapped from ground lines by hand in preparation for storage or baiting. Heretofore, mechanical apparatus have also been suggested for automating the unwrapping procedure. These devices, however, have been sufficiently impractical or unwieldy to gain any acceptance in the fishing industry. Examples of such apparatus include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,733 to Godo. Godo discloses a device for first sensing the number of times a gangion is wrapped around a ground line and a mechanical device for thereafter unwrapping the gangion from the ground line. The Godo system, while apparently effective, is relatively expensive to implement. It requires sensitive electronic sensing circuitry and that can be difficult to repair and maintain should it break down. Another such mechanical device is the gangion unwrapping device disclosed in Norwegian Pat. No. 127,086 to Vartdal. Vartdal discloses a hollow cylinder carrying a plurality of magnets through which the longline is run. The hollow cylinder is rotated as the longline, gangion and hook pass through the hollow cylinder. Because the steel hook is attracted to the magnets, the rotation of the cylinder and thus the magnets about the longline cause the hook to be rotated about the longline, thereby unwrapping the gangions. While the disclosure of the Vartdal patent is very generalized, it assumes that the gangions are wrapped about the longline in a common direction. In practice, of course, this is not true. Thus, in order to effectively use the Vartdal device, one would have to utilize a Godo-like wrap direction sensor and then change the direction of rotation of the Vartdal cylinder in order to unwrap all gangions from the longline regardless of the direction in which they are wrapped.